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I IBR.\KY OF CONGRESS 



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LIBHARY OF CONGRESS. 



PRESENTED BY 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



TiiK I'J{i;sji>i;nti\l issik, 

AM) ITS EFFECT UPON IlIK BUSINESS AND PKOBPKKITY 
OF Tin: COUNTRY. 



S P E E C IT 



Hon. ELIJOT V. (loWTMX. 



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NATIOiNAL CLir. <>r illK dl V (iF NKW VoKK, 



nrroBEU I'.t, 1868. 



V li I N ri; i> i(» ic T 11 i; t' i. r i; 

BY BAKEIl <& GODWIN. 



,Csi 



Published by the National Club of the City of New 
York, in compliance with the following resolution, which was 
unanimously adopted at the close of the address : 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Ckib be tendered to the Hon. Elliot 
C. CowDLN, for his able and eloquent address, and that a copy of the 
same be requested for publication. 

Club House, New York, Oct. 19, 1868. 



THE PRESIDENTIAL ISSUE, 

ANlt ITS EFFECT UPON THE BUSINESS \Mi I'lKi-IKRlTY OP THE COUNTRY. 



^ 



SPEE( II. 



(jI:n. Antiion, C'liainiiuii ul" llu' cveiiiiiL;:, iu ii few felic- 
itous and ai)i)ioi)riate remarks relative to the important 
part wliicli the niereantile eonininnity had taken in the 
history ^ol* our eoimtry, iiitrodiicfd the Hon. I^lmot C. 
COWDIN, as a representative nieniiant <tl' New York, \s\u> 
was reeeived with a|>pl;Mise, and spoke as follows: 

Mk. PRESroENT AND GENTLEMEN : I UIll Mot illSCHsible of the 

lionor you have done me by invitintr me to address you on the is- 
sues of the canvass. Many important considerations press upon 
(jur attention, l»ut, as a merchant, I ])urpose to confine myself to 
topics rclatini; directly to the Presidential issue, and its eflect upon 
the business and prosperity of the country. In this campaii^n we 
are settling the policy of our country' not only for the next four 
years, but, doubtless, for an indefinite period stretchinc: far beyond. 
As patriots, then, who would so act as to promote the growth and 
grandeur of the Republic and maintain its integrity and stability, 
it becomes us to take heed what course we pursue. 

na])j)ily, the glorious results of the late war and the measures 
adt»ptid for the reconstruction (tf the insurgent States have re- 
lievc'(l us, and, we trust, posterity also, from many troublesomi! 
questions that were nourees of vexation and alarm at every Presi- 
dential c<»ntest for I>U years previous to the Ili'bellion. 

Nej^ro Slavery is dea<l beyond tin- hope <»f resurrection, and 
the civil rights of all (•lass(s of our jtopulation are fixed in tlu* 
organic law. The union t)f the States, terribly shattered by one 
of the greatest convidsions in all history, is restored, and now rests 
on a Ikhis that cannot be shaken. The Constitution has been 
vindicated in its orijjinal inte^ritv ; and it has received new viiror 
from amendments that not only render all its provisions homoge- 
neous, but havi' brought it into harmony with the Declaration that 
proclaims the civil etpiality of all men. 



CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. 

With the Constitutional Amendment known as the XlVth 
Article, we are all familiar. Two of its sections are seriously 
assailed by large portions of the Democratic party, and to get rid 
of these they threaten, so soon as they obtain the power, to erase 
or disregard the entire article. They are, jlrsi^ that provision 
which conditionally prevents the holding of certain important 
offices by such of the insurgents as, previous to the Eebellion; had 
taken an oath to support the Federal Constitution, and subse- 
quently committed treason by attempting to overthrow the Union ; 
and, secooidly, that other provision which indirectly regulates the 
right of suffrage by prescribing a new basis of representation in 
the Lower House of Congress, and consequently in the PresidQu- 
tial Electoral College, The penalties affixed to the crime of 
treason by every Government are among the highest known to its 
laws. In European nations they have ever been of the most 
sanguinary nature — death under the most ignominious circum- 
stances, and attainder of blood. In our own country these penal- 
ties have felt the ameliorating touch of a more liberal civilization ; 
yet even here death may be inflicted. 

The history of the world affords no parallel to the magnanim- 
ity of the terms of reconstruction tendered to those who, by our 
civil war, cut off untimely nearly half a million of our sons and 
brothers, and destroyed thousands of millions of property, entail- 
ing poverty and ruin on one-half the Union, and piled up a public 
debt that imposes on every citizen of the Eepublic a heavy weiglit 
of taxation, and all in the attempt to overthrow the most benefi- 
cent Government that ever existed on earth. In punishment of 
this great crime, not a drop of blood has been shed ; scarcely 
one felon has been even temporarily imprisoned, and only a tri- 
fling amount of property has been confiscated ; the mass of the 
Rebels now enjoy to the full every right they forfeited, while a few 
— a very few — of the leaders who w^ere guilty both of perjury 
and treason are inhibited from holding positions wherein they 
might again be tempted to violate their official oaths ; and even 
from this paltry penalty — paltry in view of the crime — they may 
be relieved, as thousands of them already have been, by a two- 
thirds vote of Congi-ess. To call this a punishment of treason, 
and such treason, is a ridiculous misnomer ; and yet this unprece- 



dented forbcnrfincc is unappreciated hy these men, — f<oinc of tlic 
most "jiiiltv of wliom threaten to kimlle anew the flaiiRS of civil 
war, that thev may set aside this mild jtrovisioii of tlie ameiuled 
Constitution. P.ut it will stand, and these dehideJ men will yet 
learn that it is wiser to accept forLrivcness on the terms offered 
than to jtrovoke the intiiction of punishment commensurate with 
their ci'imes. 

XEcilio SLliiiACiK. 

This article further |>rovides that if any State shall deprive 
any class of its citizens of the rij^ht of sutfrai^e — as, for example, 
because of their color that State shall not he allowed to coimt 
that class in estimatiuL:; the number of liepresentalivis in ( "on<iress 
to whii-h it shall he entitled. In a word, it declarer that if the 
South rei^.ards a portion of its citizens as not tit to wield the ballot, 
it shall not u^^c their nuMV nmnbers as an elenieiil of |io\ver 
aijainst a State which treats them as competent to \ofe. 

The Democratic party at the South would deny the male .ulult- 
of 4,(M)0,O00 t»f their citizens the ri«;ht to voti-, but would themselves 
elect between thirty autl Ibrty mend»ersof('oni;ress by virtueof these 
4,0l)0,00(), and increase to the same extent tlieweijrht of thatsectitui 
of the T'nion in the Presidential Electoral Collei^e. < )nr :tnswer to 
this is summary. If this class of your citizens ou^ht to be counted 
as an element of political strength, it ouirht to be endowed with the 
elective francliise. If it is competent to be enumerated, it is com- 
petent to vote. If it is fit to have Ilej)resentativcp in Couirress, 
and in the Collciie of Elector's, it is tit to taki' jiart in choosiiiir 
th( III. It was always regarded by the iVee States as a sectional 
iXrii'vance that the South, under the Constitution as it was, ha<l 
the rii;ht tt» count three-fifths of tlu'ir slaves in determininir the 
nund)er of their Representatives in Compress and in the Collcirc 
of {'residential Electors. Put it was sidunitted to because '* so 
nominated in the bond." P)Ut now, af\er Sla\ery is destroyed, 
the South dennind to be placed in even a nmre advantafjeoiis posi- 
tion than that which they then occupied, by insistijiir that the 
whites shall practically cast their votes for the whole, or, in other 
words, for five-fifths of their colored ]>opulation, instead ot" but 
three-fif\hs as liefore ; thus intendin<^ that the aboHti«»n ot" slavery 
shall inure largely to their benefit as an element of political 



6 

power. This arrogant demand will not be conceded. This y^ro- 
vision of the Constitution will stand as the supronu; law, in spite 
of the maledictions of disunionists in the South or their allies in 
the North. 

RECONSTRUCTION. 

In the Summer of 18GG, Congress tendered to the insurgent 
States this XlVth article, as the condition of their restoration to 
the Union. Pnrsuant to the evil counsels of the leaders in the 
Rebolh'on and an unwise President, they refused to accept it, and 
threw it back in the face of Congress and the people of the North. 
The elections of that year trium])liantly sustained the XXXIXtli 
Congress, and thereu])on, in the closing hours of that body, and 
in the opening hours of its successor, a revised plan of recon- 
struction was proffered to the South, wherein the Rebel States 
were required, as condition precedent to their complete restora- 
tion to the Union, to ratify this XlVth article, and to adopt Con- 
stitutions that should confer the right of suffrage equally upon 
loyal whites and blades. This plan has been fully accepted by 
seven of the ten late Rebel States, and is in advanced stages ot 
completion in the remaining three. To this entire scheme the 
Democratic party has declared its implacable hostility, pronounc- 
ing these acts of Congress and the State Governments erected 
under them, to be " usurpations, and unconstitutional, revolution- 
ary, and void ;" and by its candidate for Vice-President, and the 
utterances of its Southern leaders, has avowed its purpose to 
overthrow these Governments, deprive the loyal blacks of the 
elective franchise, and threatens to carry its hostility to tlie point 
of precipitating the country into another civil war. 

In the face of such declarations, tlie question at issue is not 
whether this plan of reconstruction is the best that couldhave been 
devised, nor whether the loyal blacks are entitled to the ballot ; but 
it rather is, whether the authority of the Government shall be sus- 
tained and the Union maintained against the machinations and as- 
saults of traitors who owe to the forbearance of the Government the 
very breath with which they now anathematize its laws and threaten 
its existence. But this provision of the reconstruction scheme 
will be sustained. Free suffrage is a Democratic principle, and 
will bo maintained by a Democratic people, even though it be re- 



pudiated l>v :i ]>arty that lias i)rcPervcfi notliin;^ of Democracy 
except tlu' name. 

" Rif<;lit is rifjhf, pincc God \h (Jod, 
And ri};ht thn day shall win ; 
T(» (!(iiif)t would be di.xloyalty. 
To fnlt<T would bo sin." ( ( lufrt ] 

These j^eiith'meii who threaten to overthrow the rrconstruclion 
jtolicy by toree, (M^unt witluMit tlM.'ir host. (Jov. Seymour is not 
^oinj; to he elected, and one <»t" th»' most powerful intluenccH that 
will eontrihnte to his defeat is these very threats. A vast major- 
ity of the people North and South will not clothe with power 
those whom they even euBpect of a denire to reopen in any way, 
and especially l»y an a])peal to force, issues which have been Bot- 
tled ann'd the hiaze and caiiiage of hundreds of battle-fields. They 
will, throuj;h the ballot bo.xes, set the seal of their indif^mint repro- 
bation upon a party that threatens to introflucc into this Ilepublic 
that system of violence as a redress for real or fancied political 
evils, which has s(» lonu cun*e«l the SpaTnVh-.Vmerican States of 
this Continent. 

This experiment, oii<e irie<l, has c">i the Uepublic seven thou- 
sand millions of money, and half a million of lives, and liarf 
entaileU ujion us and our posterity a colossal debt, inexorable 
taxation, and a lon^ train of jxtlitical, social, and financial ca- 
lamities. The mass of our considerate and <on>ervative citizens 
jjave determined that this shall suffice for at least the remainder 
of the present century, an«l they will not ojdy withhold ])owcr 
from, but will blot out of e.xistence, the Democratic ])arty, or any 
party that attempts to reverse this irrevocable decree, 

THE r)Em)rnATTr' I'ATJTV. 

In this connection, let me say, in justice to the Democratic 
masses at the North, I believe them to be honest in their convictions, 
and patriotic in their purposes, and that they will not lon^ consent 
tolx; led either by pardoned, yet unrepentant. Rebels of the South 
or their allies at the North. The Democratic party was once the 
champion of e«|ual rij^htri and universal sutirage, of j»rogres« and 
reform. But through its affiliations with Slavery its brain became 



8 

palsied and its heart corrupted. It was by the Southern members 
of this party that the Rebellion was brought on. Their Northern 
associates oj)posed coercion, discouraged enlistments, opposed the 
draft, opposed the raising of money to carry on the war, opposed the 
abolition of Slavery even as a war measure. They were in favor of 
restoring the Rebel States without any safeguard for freedom, and 
would gladly have given back every slave to his master, and com- 
pelled the nation, tax-ridden as it is, to pay for every slave that 
was liberated, or let " the erring sisters depart in peace." Gov. 
Seymour, in a speech delivered by him to his fellow-townsmen of 
Utica, in October, 1861, said : 

" If it is true that Slavery must be abolished to save tlie Union, 
then the people of the South should be allowed to withdraw them- 
selves from the Government which cannot give them the protec- 
tion guarranteed by its terms." 

What is that but an explicit avowal that Slavery must be pro- 
tected though the Republic perish. Compare these utterances 
with the noble sentiments of Gen. Grant, who, in reply to the 
Memphis Committee, said : " The only true foundation for human 
government is human liberty." 

Fortunately for our country, the Democratic party, through- 
out its career, has been divided into two classes, the one clinging 
to the dead past, the other advancing toward the glowing future. 
They have diifered, not merely upon questions of policy, but at 
various epochs have been found for and against the honor, the 
glory, the very existence, of the Republic. In remote days we 
saw Burr, the Democratic traitor, plotting to dismember the 
Union ; and Jefferson, the founder of the Democratic party, bring- 
ing him into a court of justice, that he might be punished for his 
crimes. 

Thirty-eight years ago, while John C. Calhoun, the author 
of Nullilication and the father of Secession, was, in the name 
of Democracy, undermining the Republican fabric, Andrew 
Jackson uttered tlie talisnumic sentiment : " The Federal Union ! 
It must and shall be preserved!" At a later era, during the 
struggles over tlic application of the Wilmot Proviso in the Terri- 
tories acquired in the Mexican war, when Foote of Mississippi, 
and King of Alabama, and other Democratic disciples of the.Cal- 



9 

houn school of Slaverv propaj^andists, tlireatened to dissolve the 
Union it' this tinic-honorcd proviso were enforced; Jientoii, 
Wright, and Van Buren, whose naniCB were the synonyms ot' 
Democracy, vindicated both the proviso and the Union. In the 
recent crisis of our Union we liave seen Doujxlas and Dix, and 
Dickinson, and Holt, and Wadsworth, renowned Democratic 
chieftains, pivinp^ the l)est services, and some of them tlieir heart's 
blood, to sustain a Government which Davis, and Breckinrid<;e, 
and Toombs, and Cobb, and Wise, were tii:litin<5 to destroy. And 
for the victory that awaits Ulysses S. Grant in Novend)er, hin)self 
a true Democrat, he will be lar«;ely indebted to Democrats who 
can distinpnisli between principles and professions, and prefer an 
honest creetl to a sounding name. [Cheers.] JUen who are ready 
to exclaim : 

" In your opinions look not always back ; 
Your wnkf is nothinp, mind the coming track; 
Leave what j-ou've doae, for what you have to do, 
Don't be consistent, but be simjily true." [Applause.] 

" LET US HAVE PEACE." 

Fellow citizens, this country needs repose. It has sutlered un- 
der four years of sanpuinary strife, followed by t'.iir years of polit- 
ical commotion. The foundations of our civil institutions have 
been shaken ; our trade, manufactures, agriculture, and industrial 
pursuits of all kinds have languished ; our financial aftaire have 
been thrown into disorder ; theditloront <le|iartment^of the (Tovern- 
ment liave been brought into violent collisi(»n ; men's hearts have 
failed them through fear. Everything that is noble, and good, and 
generous in the land, cries out, " Let us have Peace." The peojde 
desire to see an end to this turbulent, vexatious, imcertain condition 
of things. 

They know that the election of Grant and Coltax will brinir 
them what their hearts so much covet — peace I No sooner 
will the electric wires flash the news of their triumph over the 
Potomac and the Ohio, than tliiit vast regi»m, which for four years 
was scourged by war, and has since been the pn>y of ]>asaions 
hardly less ruinous than war, will lapse into a state of repose such 
as it has s»t much needed, but has not been able t«» enjoy for eicjht 
calamitous years. Partisan strife will then give way to peaceful 



10 



avocations. Interest in manufactures and agriculture will super- 
sede the excitement of the caucus. The music of the mill will 
silence the din of the hustings. The Common School will he more 
respected than the political convention, and a lecture on practical 
science will draw more hearers than the most fervid stump ha- 
rangue. The South will then hegin to see that an excess of poli- 
tics has heen her ruin, and will turn all her energies to building 
up her waste places, developing her immense resources, reviviug 
her drooping industry, instructing the masses of her population, 
and moving foward in a new career of prosperity and glory. In 
a word, she will realize what the North fully compreliends, that 
the cause for which she fought is irretrievably lost. Taught sub- 
mission to the inevitable results of the w^ar by bitter experience, 
she wdll turn her back upon the gloomy past and open her eyes to 
the bright future ; aud ere long become a powerful, rich, intelli- 
gent, and law-abidina: section of the Union. 

EFFECT OF SEYMOUK'S ELECTIOK. 

But elect Seymour and Blair, and every hopefid feature of this 
picture will be reversed. At once the South will commence a 
crusade to upheave the work of reconstruction. She will struggle 
to overthrow what she is pleased to call the carpet-bag govern- 
ment. She will aim to deprive the colored population of the suf- 
fraire. She will, in brief, do her utmost to retrieve the lost cause. 
That her efforts in this direction will be measureably in vain, we 
may well believe. For even should Gov. Seymour be elected, the 
people w^ho fought out the issues of the late war at the cost of so 
much treasure and blood will not consent to see its fruits either 
fraudulently or violently wrested from them. 

Gov. Seymour's administration, even if backed by the House of 
Representatives,would be confronted throughout its entire existence 
by a majority of the Senate. It could not repeal an existing statute 
nor enact a new law, nor place in power any officer from the Secre- 
tary of State down, without the consent of that body. Practically, it 
could not carry into effect any one of its cherished measures. But the 
consequences of even an ineffectual struggle to restore the ancient 
regime would be none the less pernicious to the business interests 
of the country, and especially to those of the South. For four 
years the attention of the Soutliern people would continue to be 



11 



diverted fmni tlieir triu- iiit(M-otits, hiiJ devoted to political a|iitati»>n. 
No t^reutt-r calamity cuuld hcfiill tliat jxtrtinn of tlic l^iiioii, tliaii 
to Hce it turn aside from the work «»f reviviufj^ its prostrate indiis 
trv, and j>luni;e anew into tlie stormy sea of politics, whereon it> 
prosperitv, its honor, its power, have once suifered so terrihif :i 
shipwreck. 

Its worst enemies conhl wish it no more dire ciilamitics 
than are sure to overwhehn it if its people, under the lead of 
those architects of ruin, llani]>ton. Hill, Beaureirard, Toombs, 
Wise, Fitrrest, and Vance, siiouhl, in the event of the election of 
Seymour and I'dair, attempt t«» execute their threats of overthrow 
inir the ( 'onLrressioiial ]»olicy of reconstruction, and setting up in 
its phice the institutions and the policies which prevaih'tl pr»;vi..us 
to the Rebellion. 

KI'FIKT OK (iUAXrs KLKCTloN. 

On the other hand, the ele<!tion of (ien. Grant, ^\^lile it woidd 
insj>ire contidence everywlu're, woidil inaugurate a nijin ot" peace, 
of order, ot" permanent v, of jir»i>perity in the Snuth, wliih- tlint «'| 
(iov. Sevmour w<»uhl revive and invigorate the ep«jch ot' strile, ot 
instu\»ility, ot" ruin, suith as has hH«;lited ;unl cursed thirteen Statt^s, 
and twelve millions v\' p(!ople duriuir tour years ot" war, t'ollowcd 
Ity three years of collision between end>ittereil tactions. Nor 
would the contrast be hardly less strikiuf^ in the Northern States 
than in the Southern. What our ])eople want — (Uir capitalists 
autl laln»rei-s, our business luvu and j»roducers, oi' all classes — is 
national repose, national stability, national contidence, administra- 
tive ability in national atfairs. They Ion*; tor the arrival of the 
htiur when that st«>rmy sea of armed rebellion, political contention, 
and titumcial uncertainty, on which they have been tossed for 
ei»;ht years, will sink to rest. Its wild waves, and tierce -temix'sts, 
and luriil skii^ have artViijhted the timid, vexed the enterprising, 
and thwarted the plans of the most |iru<lent and (ia<;acious. 

Till' nuiterial interi'sts and the business mi-n, of every grade 
and cla-s, iVom the prou<lcs(. millinnaire to the humblest workman, 
anxiously await the return of pejioe and ]nd»lic order throuj^hout 
the land. They are weary t>t' this din and clanmr about ri-con- 
struction, State rights, a white nnin's government, neirro suflVii^e, 
amnesty, and the like, and lonji tor a stable fjovernuient with a 



12 

settled policy. And tliey believe that the administration of Gen. 
Grant, sustained by a patriotic and patient people, will in due 
time secure them this far more certainly than would that of Gov. 
Seymonr, whose platform suggests, and insinuates, at least, repu- 
diation and revolution, and whose administration would rally to 
its support all the turbulent and rebellious elements of one section 
of the Union, with mucl; that is untrustworthy and unpatriotic in 
the other. In a word, if Seymour is elected, nothing can be per- 
manently settled for four years at least, for his success would be 
a signal of commotion throughout the country, for acrimonious 
collision between different branches of the Government — culmi- 
nating finally, perhaps, in civil war. Whereas, if Grant is elected, 
that vei-y fact will almost instantly dispose of all important dis- 
turbing issues, by promptly bringing all departments of the Gov- 
ernment into such harmonious cooperation as to insure quiet and 
stability, and inspire hope and confidence in every part of the Union, 
When the friction of that complicated government macliinery 
ceases to affi'ight the public ear, the national credit will improve ; 
hope will revive; men will take courage; business, both at the 
North and South, will spring to its feet, and move forward with 
elastic step ; commerce will spread her moldering wings ; manu- 
facture will unchain her idle wheels; trade will unbolt her closed 
doors, and the merchant, the mechanic, the miner, and the agri- 
culturist, will feel a new life throbbing through their veins. The 
cotton and rice plantations of the South will once more vie with 
the corn-fields of the West. The ingenious mechanics of the East 
will compete anew in generous rivalry with the enterprising miners 
of the West. The coal and the iron of Pennsylvania and Maryland 
will again seek the seaboard marts in company with the gold and 
silver of California and Nevada, and the hemp and wool of Kentucky 
and Ohio. The Atlantic ports will resume their trade with Europe 
in American bottoms, while the completed Pacific Railway, the 
wonder of an age that teems with great improvements, shall realize 
the dream of Columbus by opening the gates of the Orient froni the 
west. Then that little rivulet of additional trade with China, aris- 
ing out of our new and peculiar relations with her, will widen and 
deepen into a generous river. At the present time the largest ocean 
steamers in the world, running between California, Japan, and 
China, are unable, even now, before the completion of the Pacific 
Railroad, to carry the passengers and freight which are ofiered. 



18 

iJv tlio flection ot'Seyniour nml I'liilrall this risiiiij |)ro*«]H'rity will 
he clii'<'k(Hl, hrcause it is iMi])«issihl<' !<• <«>iiihiit ;rrr:it ciitcrprisi's 
in :h> iinsottk'cl titato of atiairs. 

Let UK not tovfiet tliat tlie {irttsjinity ot' tlii- ci.uiitrv tl('|M'iiils 
wluillv niKHi the eoiiditioii |)re('e<lent that jieact^ ami stahility rt'ijjii 
thn»nii^ht>ut our l»»nk'rs. ()hscuri' tlu' hori/oii hy turhiiloiicc, and 
cspeciallv overcast the sky with tlu- dark clouds of civil war, and 
tliene visions ot'coniinir pros|>«'rity dissolve in iniiicnfjini: ni;rht. 

TlIK IMNANCIAL ISSTKS. 

The financial <[uestions involved in this (contest, lhitut;h ot'lcn 
discussed, I cannot wholly overlook. Our puhlic deht pressen 
heavily upon the industry of the country. Tlu; taxes which neces- 
sarily tl»»w therefrom lay their <^rasp, directly or indire<'lly, nj»on 
everythinj; we eat, drink, wear, or use. These are grievous l»nr- 
deiis. r»iit thev were incurreil in a n«>ltle strujjf^le to |ire>crve the 
liepuhlie. He who j^a/.es not without solicitude, npon thi' cojos 
sal proportions of our i^reat deht ; \h' who sulmiits, not wholly 
without repinini:", to the searciiiiii; exactions of the tax-j^atherer ; 
the iniMionaire who lit|uidates his heavy annual ass«'ssnient ; the 
lahori'r who pays enhanced jiriccs for everythiuij he cttiisunieS' 
should all reiiiendier that these hurdens were heaju'd upon them 
hy a hand ot" democratic liehels, who, at'ter she<ldinj^ an ocean ot' 
hlootland iuinin«j; oiu'-half of the Union, and |>lun<^in<^ the «ither 
half into unprecedented tiiumcial disasters, are now damorini; 
for the election of Seymoui- and I'dair, and threateidnj^ in the 
event of their triumph to in\olve the country in another war. 
rill' neceri.sity oi' creatini.' this deht and levyinj^ these taxes is 
therefore to he chari^e<l exclusively to the treason of the Southern 
I)enu>cracy. The loyal masses tirndy met the issue. The re 
s<»urces of the c(»untry proved ajletpuite to the i^reat enu'rtjency. 
The citizens coiifrihuted of their suhstance to its trcjisurv, and 
freely ;^ave their hlood to vindicate its flai(. W«' triumphed; and 
as the hlood shall he held in everlasting remend>rance hy our 
children and our children's children, so posterity will discharj^e 
the deht to the utmost farthin<;, according to tlu; letter and spirit 
of the contract, in the money of the civiliz«'d world. .\yel the 
bonds will he paid, as will the greenbacks ukso, and h.>tli in the 
currency of Christendom. [Api'hiuse. ] 



14 

As the gratitude of the nation will prove ample to canonize 
the sacred dust of its heroic dead, so will its resources and its in- 
tegrity be found sufficient to keep faith with those who trusted it 
in a dark and perilous era. The Democratic press in commenting 
upon the result of the late elections, tauntingly remarked that 
the bloated foreign bondholders were rejoicing because it might 
enable them to realize 100 cents for what they paid only 40 cents. 
If througli the crimes of our enemies the national credit was 
thus debased, let us rejoice that through the virtues of our friends 
it is gradually improving, and ere long will arrive at what we all 
somuch desire — specie payment. 

Why should the credit of Massachusetts, whose 5 per cent, 
bonds are now selling in London at 85 cents be so much better 
than the credit of the United States, whose 6 per cent, bonds bring 
in the same market only T4: cents ? It is because the people of 
Massachusetts liave been a unit in upholding the credit of the 
Commonwealth beyond peradventure or the possibility of a doubt ; 
while the validity of the national debt has been questioned, and 
our credit materially damaged, by the authoritative declarations 
of the Democratic party. 

Nations, like individuals, must ever be mindful that 
credit is not only the basis of all great enterprises, but is 
the life of an industrial people. The Unancial disasters that 
would follow the success of the Democracy would aflfect our credit 
in all the markets of the world. Large amounts of our bonds are 
held in Europe. The holders already show signs of uneasiness be- 
cause of the Democratic threats of practical repudiation. 

The character of our people is on trial on every Exchange be- 
yond the Atlantic. Not the bondholders and moneyed men 
only in foreign lands, but those who stood up firmly for the Union 
during the war, earnestly deprecate the success of Seymour, and 
anxiously desire the triumph of Grant, so that the honor and in- 
tegrity of the nation, both financially and politically, may^be vin- 
dicated. John Bright, the champion of freedom and equal rights 
in his native land, whose thrilling eloquence resounded in our de- 
fence during the darkest period of the conflict, now ardently hopes 
for our success in the present issue. Count de Gasparin, the author 
of that invaluable tribute to our country, issued during the 
gloomiest liours of our struggle, " The Uprising of a Great Peo- 
ple," earnestly desires the election of Grant and Colfax. So also 



15 

do tll(>^t• KtluT cliaiiii'liiMS »>r lihcrty, M(l\\;ii<l Lalioiilavt' aiul 
llciiii .\rartin, the Frpiioh historiiiii, '* Voii hit ri^lit," nays th« 
latter, " in l»i'lit'viiii; that wt' are warmly iiitfrrstrtl in yotir Prtsi- 
(k'litial contest. Thi* eh^ction <>t" a .sni <lis(tii( Dnnoerat wuiihl he 
a ^rcat cahiniitv. hut we have t'ull contidenrc in tlu' success «»f 
( iencral (iraiit." 

( )n the other IiuikI. those l'!nro]ic;ins, who aic the >n|i|'U'. 
tools ol" (lcS|totisiii, and who ionised tor llic o\( rtlirow ot" the 
irieat la'puhiic in i»ur late conflict, as earnestly ho|>c lor the 
cltM-tion of Seymour and I'hiir ; so that throuj^li another civil 
war and the rciuidlation ol" our oMij^ations, the cause of Deiu«H 
cratic institutions may he |tut to lia/ard. and tlie creiht ot" tlicir 
hrightest exemphar be foully tarnished. 

SKY MO! i: AM) WAK— (UJANT AND I'EACE. 

{•'ellow citizens, it is wi^e to conlcmiijatc the jmrposcs avow ed 
hy our o|>|»onents in thei'vent ot their triumph. They intend to get 
aside the reconstruction jtolicy ot'(.'oii<;re.<s(now nearly coniiileted) 
hy force of arms. Their starting point is tluit deelaratiim enjj^rafl- 
ed into tlieir iSational Phitform l)y the pen of Gen. Wade Hampton, 
wherein they proohiim that the reconstruction acts and tlu; State 
(Tovernments erected under them are " usurpations, and uncousiti- 
tiitional, revolutionary, and vctiil."' (ten. Pdair. in a letter writ- 
ten just previous to the assembling of the (convention, and which 
l>rtuiired him its nomination for tlru Vice-Presidency, struck the 
key note ot" their intents in these sipnitieant w<»rds. lie save: 
*' It would be the tluty of the PresiileiU elect to «U'clari' those acts 
null and void, disperse the carj»et-hai:; State (iovernments, allow 
the white people to reor:;anize their own •governments, and elect 
Senators and Kepresentatives.'" Nay, more. " AVe mu.-t have a 
President," he says, "who will trample Jnto dust the usurpations 
of Congress, known as tlu; Iveconstruetion aetH." 

Are those incendiary doctrines of the Deniocratie platform, 
and these revolutionary declarations of the Denmcratic candidate 
tor the \ ice-I*re8idency, mere empty ftounds, 8ii:nifying nothin«r ? 
Immediately on the adjournment of the Tammany Convention, 
they were caught and re-echoed by all the lea«lin^ orators of the 
Democratic i>arty in the Stuith, an»id tumultuous cheers of e.xeited 
assemblies. Hampton, Vanci', Hill, Toombs, Senunes, Peauregard, 



16 

Forrest, and other leading ex-E-ebels have reiterated them before 
applauding thousands, in every variety of phrase, in all the insur- 
gent States. 

The leading Democratic journals of the South — at Charleston, 
Savannah, Mobile, Atlanta, and the other great centres — have 
spread them before their readers, in every form of rhetoric known 
to the editorial pen. Need I trouble you with the reading of 
these speeches and articles ? They have become to us " as fa- 
miliar as household words." We at once recognize them as of 
like tenor and effect with those which issued from the same' lips 
and the same pens eight years ago, in the dark and troubled 
night which preceeded our civil war. 

Does charity require, does prudence allow, that we regard 
tliese threats as mere idle gasconade ? These men are too intelli- 
gent to believe, they know us too well to cherish, the delusion 
that they can by mere bravado bully and frighten those who 
trampled them down in the late war. No. They mean to carry 
into execution their teachings, provided they can fight to regain 
the lost cause under the protecting aegis of an administration 
elected to give full force and effect to the nullification doctrines 
of their national platform and the sanguinary intentions of the 
Blair letter, but which they do not dare even to threaten, under 
the administration oi' Grant and Colfax. 

I am aware that it has recently been claimed by these South- 
ern orators and editors, that the North has put too stringent a 
construction upon these revolutionary utterances. But there 
stands the record. We do not construe ; we merely quote. We 
do not interpret ; we merely read. We do not comment, but 
simply give the plain, unvarnished text. We cite the platform 
and the letter ; we refer to the speeches and the editorials, without 
note or gloss. And we tell the 105 eminent Rebels who sat in 
the Tammany Convention, and framed its resolutions, and dic- 
tated its nominations, and their echoes and expounders North 
and South, that though they may have since discovered that their 
treasonable utterances have ruined their party, for this canvass at 
least, they cannot be allowed at this stage of the trial to change 
the issues. 

I would fain believe that the sober second thought of these 
men, traitors should I not say, rather, daring and reckless as they 
are, will induce them to abandon a scheme so treasonable in its 



17 

iiic'C]»ti(»n, su impossible of execution. Wo lu-cil liardly tell tlieni 
that if the lejjiil voters of this country elect (ten. (traut to the 
Presidency, tliey will see to it that lie is re<;ularly inauirurated, in 
g]Mtc of all the Rebels south of Mason and Dixon's line, and all 
their allies north of it. Once instulleil in the White II<»u.se, tlie 
hero of Donelson, of Vieksburg, of C'lmttanooj^a, and of Appomat- 
tox, would not lack the purpose, the rourafce, the skill, nor the 
means, to crush utterly and forever this attempt to retrieve the 
lost cause by pre<'ipitatin«; the country in another civil war. 

The more serious, in fact the only danircr would arise from 
the election of Sevmour. The rcvolutionarv i>ro<rramme of the 
platform, of the Blair letter, and of the speeches of the leading? ex- 
rebels, could then be reduced to practice by erecting; new (govern- 
ments in the ten Southern States, irrespective of the governments 
already existing there. The two classes of governments with 
their antagonized otlicials would soon come into violent collision, 
and the authority of President Seymour would be invoked, and 
would no doubt be employed to overthrow the existing govern- 
ments — or, in the words of would-be Vice-President Blair, " to 
disperse the carpet-bag Government." And this would inaugu- 
rate civil war. 

Forewarned V)y these threats, true policy calls upon the patri- 
otic and conservative elements of the country tc» avert the calam- 
ities that wt.iidd folldw the success of the l)enu>cratic nominees by 
electing Grant and Colfax by a majority S(» overwhelming as to 
dissolve every doubt, and silence the faintest breath of clamor <>r 
dissent. 

SCHUYLER COLFAX. 

What candid man doubts that the country will be ^ale under 
their rule, and that their elevation to the Presidency and Vice- 
Presidency will be followed by a sea.son of quiet and repose i r)f 
Mr. Col tax's large experience, liberaL princijtles. strict integrity, 
popular manners, and ami»le ca])acity to discharge the high trusts 
about to be committed to his keeping, I need not speak. He is 
everywhere known and beloved as a wise statesman and Christian 
gentleman. 



18 



GEN. GRANT— HIS CHARACTER AND OPINIONS. 

Gen. Grant is one of those grand characters on which the pen 
of history loves to dwell. Tried in war and in peace, and tested 
by every vicissitude of fortune, he has proved equal to all emer- 
gencies. [Cheers.] Simple in his manners, modest in his utter- 
ances, clear-headed and generous-hearted, liberal and magnan- 
imous, but firm and courageous, honest, sincere, and truthful, the 
enemy of fraud, duplicity, and'cant, patient and cautious in con- 
ceiving his plans, and resolute and skillful in their execution, and 
possessing to an extraordinary degree that sagacity which enables 
one to judiciously select subordinates, and put " the right man in 
the right place," he will prove as wise in the Cabinet as he was 
heroic in the field. Gen. Grant is not a prejudiced paritsan, nor 
versed in the crooked ways of professional politicians. But his 
varied services during the war ; the wide authority he has exer- 
cised in a semi-civil capacity since the downfall of the Rebellion ; 
his supervision of the difiicult and delicate task of reconstructing 
a shattered Union, have shown that he has those mental traits 
and habitudes of mind that qualify men for the skillful adminis- 
tration of public afiairs on the broadest theater. Belonging to 
that school of men of whom Monroe and Jackson and Taylor 
were lively types, he has given ample proof that he only needs 
the occurrence of opportunity and the pressm-e of duty, to so con- 
duct the afiairs of the nation, as to win a place among the purest 
and ablest statesmen w^lio have filled the Presidential chair. 

Though not trained to civil office, nor accustomed to address his 
fellow-citizens, either with the pen or from the platform. Gen. 
Grant has spoken, and his sentiments are of the noblest and most 
inspiring character. Five years ago he said to the people of Ten- 
nessee : " The stability of this Government and the unity of this 
nation depend solely on the cordial support and the earnest loyalty 
of the people." 

In his letter to the President, protesting against the removal 
of the gallant Phil. Sheridan from the command of the Fifth 
Military District, he said : " This is a Republic where the will 
of the people is the law of the land. I beg that their voice may 
be heard." 

In his address to the armies of the Union, at the close of the 



19 

Rebellion, among other thrilling sentiment^ he gave the toUow 
ing : " [Jy your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour «»r 
danger ;ind alarm, ymir magnificent fighting, bravery, and endur- 
ance, you have maintained the sujiremacy of" the Union, over 
thrown all armed opposition to the enforcement of the laws, and 
the prodamatiniis forever ab(»lishing slavery — the cause and jire- 
text of the Rebellion — and opened the way to the rightful 
authorities to restore order and inaugurate peace on a permanent 
and enduring i)asis on every foot of American soil." 

In his reply to the committee notifying him of his nomination 
at Chicago, lie showed both his modesty and his regard for the 
po]>ular will when he said: "If chosen to till the high t)ttice for 
which you have selected me, I will give to its duties the same en- 
ergy, the same spirit, and the same will, I have given to the per- 
formance of all duties which have devolved upon me heretofore. 
AVhcther I shall l)e able to })erform tliose<luties to your entire sat- 
isfaction, time will determine. Vou have truly said that I shall 
have no j)nlic'y (»f my own to interj>osc against the will of the 
j)eople." 

And in his formal letter of acceptance he has given the kev- 
note of his adniinistration : " i'eace, :in<l universal prosperity, its 
secpu'ncc, with econoniy of a(lmini>tration. will lighten the ))urden 
of taxation, while it eoiistaiiflv reduces the national del>t Let us 
have i>eace." 

CONCIA'SION. 

IIow grandly t|o these jdain, undis<^uise<i and genuine I^emo 
cratie o}»inions compare with the elaborate and eva.sive effusions 
of the loi|uacious Seymour, and the rash and revolutionary decla- 
rations of the vociferous Hlair. Finally : assured of the triumph 
of a ticket, of which every j)atriotic American may feel justly 
proud, it only remains for us to see to it, that tlie P'mpire State 
bears an hoiuirable part in this struggle by falling into line with 
the advancing column, and giving her electoral vote to the soldier 
and the sttitesman who has proved himself 

■ Patient of toil, scrcno amid R]arm><. 
Inflexible of faith, invincible in arms." 

I Lou'l applause. ] 



